Virginie Viard imagined a punk princess coming out of ‘Le Palace’ at dawn while creating the Chanel Fall 2021 Haute Couture collection. The collection was inspired by Karl Lagerfeld as he would go to ‘Le Palace’ and  accompany very sophisticated yet very eccentric women.

All of Chanel’s embroidery partners, including the Métiers d’art Lesage and Montex, as well as Lemarié and Goossens have contributed to the precious tweeds embellished with sequins, strass, stones and beads. A diamond-like braiding adorns the ink black trouser suits. Short dresses with cinched waists and corolla skirts rustle alongside long dresses with a very Grand Siècle allure and the noble authority of heroines escaping from 19th century tableaux.

“It’s true that I thought about paintings, but it was more German paintings,” says Virginie Viard. “I really had Karl’s world in mind…” Black and anthracite grey tonalities are illuminated with flashes of pink. Painted laces enrich bolero jackets along with tweeds made of silver streaked ribbon; a jacket with an entirely smocked waist is worn over tapered boot-trousers in black suede, the ultimate sign of an ultra-rock romanticism. “For me, Haute Couture is romantic by its very essence. There is so much love in each one of these silhouettes.”

For beauty, Global Creative Makeup and Color Designer for Chanel Lucia Pica used  very strong and deep, defined browny red lips, a very thin elongated eyeliner paired with a transparent and luminous skin with accents of balmy highlight.

“Romantic punk with a sophisticated twist. A playfulness paired with a chic sense of assurance. We maintained a punk attitude to the makeup going from a bold eyeliner to deep dark sophisticated lips, through a defined yet subtle use of pink,” said Lucia Pica.